Eben (sword)
| Eben (sword) | |
|---|---|
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| Information | |
| Weapon type: | sword |
| Use: | Weapon, ceremonial weapon |
| Region of origin / author: |
People of the Edo, or Bini of Benin , people of the Ife , people of the Yoruba |
| Distribution: | Nigeria , Africa |
| Lists on the subject | |
Warriors hold up their Benin swords, bronze relief plate 16. – 18. Century, Musée du Louvre .
The Eben (also Ebere or Benin sword ) is a ceremonial sword from the Kingdom of Benin , today Nigeria .
description
The Eben has a double-edged, leaf-shaped blade made of bronze . The blade is pierced with patterns or symbols. At the booklet is often attached to a ring of different materials. It is used by the Bini and Ife ethnic groups.
It was used in ceremonies established by the first warrior king of the Yoruba , Obu Ewuare, in the middle of the 15th century . These ceremonies honor the dead fathers and ancestors of the kings. The king himself uses this sword during the dances.
It is likely that the development of the Eben was influenced by the ring dagger .
literature
- Werner Fischer, Manfred A. Zirngibl: African weapons: knives, daggers, swords, hatchets, throwing weapons. Verlag Prinz, 1978.
- Christopher Spring : African arms and armor. Smithsonian Institution Press, 1993, ISBN 978-1-56098-317-0 .
Web links
Commons : Benin Swords - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Individual evidence
- ^ Paula Ben-Amos: Art, innovation, and politics in eighteenth-century Benin, Indiana University Press, 1999, ISBN 978-0-253-33503-6 , page 85 [1]
- ↑ Picture and information at Hamill-Gallery (accessed on September 28, 2009)
- ↑ Spring: African arms and armor. 1993, p. 29
- ↑ Sture Lagercrantz : Ring daggers, arm daggers and brass knuckles in Africa. In: Zeitschrift für Ethnologie, 69th year, issue 6 (1937), p. 422 ( JSTOR 25839679 )
- ↑ Spring: African arms and armor. , 1993, p. 52